Guys, I have no idea what MIDNIGHT IN ST. PETERSBURG by
Vanora Bennett is trying to be. If
it wants to be a romance, it falls drastically short.
There is no spark there, as it were, and I was just so
bored.
I was really excited to read this after a recent trip to
St. Petersburg. I realized that, as an American who grew
up in the 80s and 90s, I know so little of Russian
culture and history. A love of the animated "Anastasia"
movie nonwithstanding, I know I need to learn more. So I
happily signed up to review this and then... slogged
through it.
I think there's a good book in here, it just needs a bit
more direction. I appreciated the prose and the clear
attention to detail and the grasp of history. I just
could not connect with the characters and could find
little reason to keep turning the page.
I think folks who already know a bit about this period in
Russian history may find more to grab onto and may enjoy
MIDNIGHT IN ST. PETERSBURG more than myself.
St. Petersburg, 1911: Inna Feldman has fled the pogroms of
the south to take refuge with distant relatives in Russia's
capital city. Welcomed by the flamboyant Leman family, she
is apprenticed into their violin-making workshop. She feels
instantly at home in their bohemian circle, but revolution
is in the air, and as society begins to fracture, she is
forced to choose between her heart and her head. She loves
her brooding cousin, Yasha, but he is wild, destructive and
devoted to revolution; Horace Wallick, an Englishman who
makes precious Faberge creations, is older and promises
security and respectability. And, like many others, she is
drawn to the mysterious, charismatic figure beginning to
make a name for himself in the city: Rasputin.
As the
rebellion descends into anarchy and bloodshed, a commission
to repair a priceless Stradivarius violin offers Inna a
means of escape. But which man will she choose to take with
her? And is it already too late? A magical and passionate
story steeped in history and intrigue, Vanora Bennett's
Midnight in St. Petersburg is an extraordinary novel
of music, politics, and the toll that revolution exacts on
the human heart.
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